Conundrum Red is made from a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Sourced from premier California winegrowing regions, Conundrum Red features dark red varietals including Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is serious yet lighthearted, complex and approachable. With lavish fruit flavors and baking chocolate, this wine has smooth tannins that provide a distinctive, soft character. Be daring and drink slightly chilled to enhance the fruit profile and enjoy any time of year.
Corinne Perchaud Chablis (half-bottle) is 100 percent Chardonnay.
A classic Chablis with aromas of ripe white fruits and a taste of rich minerals.
The Vineyards The plots are in Chablis located predominantly on the village of Fleys, but also on the common Chichée and Fontenay, their total area is 13 hectares. They are mostly north and north-west oriented. The ground floor is Kimmeridgian marl consisting clay and limestone. The oldest of of the vines is 35 years. Winemaking After a slight settling, the juice is put in stainless tanks to achieve its fermentation both alcoholic and malolactic. There is a long aging on lees to refine the flavors and develop complex flavors. If necessary, we make a collage of Bentonite to remove proteins and a passing cold which eliminates tartar crystals. Then we perform a tangential filtration method friendly to the wine. The wine is bottles between 14 and 21 months after the harvest. 2011 Vintage The relatively high temperatures at the end of winter allowed an early bud vines in early March. With a hot, dry spring flower took place in good conditions. In July, a hailstorm located did some damage to our Fourchaume plot. July and early August, rainy and stormy brought the water needed vineyards. The dry and sunny weather of the second half of August brought the grape good maturity. The harvest began on September 2 under clement skies.
Corinne Perchaud Chablis Premier Cru Vaucoupin is 100 percent Chardonnay.
The vineyard The plots are on the Vaucoupin Chichée village. They are very steep and facing south, their average age is 40 years. The total area is 1.45 hectares. The vines are planted on soil Kimmeridgian marl consisting clay and limestone with dominant clay. Winemaking After a slight settling, the juice is put in to achieve its fermentation tank alcoholic and malolactic. It follows a long aging on lees to bring a maximum of complexity of aromas and flavors. If necessary, we make a collage to bentonite to remove proteins and a passing cold which eliminates tartar crystals. Then we perform a tangential filtration is the filtration method most friendly to wine.
The wine will be bottled 16 months after harvest. The relatively high temperatures at the end of winter allowed an early bud vines in early March. With a hot, dry spring flower took place in good conditions. In July, a hailstorm located did some damage to our Fourchaume plot. July and early August, rainy and stormy brought the water needed for the vineyards. The dry and sunny weather of the second half of August brought the grapes to maturity. The harvest began on September 2 under clement skies.
Pairs well with seafood, shellfish.
Corinne Perchaud Chablis Premier Cru Vaucoupin is 100 percent Chardonnay.
The vineyard The plots are on the Vaucoupin Chichée village. They are very steep and facing south, their average age is 40 years. The total area is 1.45 hectares. The vines are planted on soil Kimmeridgian marl consisting clay and limestone with dominant clay. Winemaking After a slight settling, the juice is put in to achieve its fermentation tank alcoholic and malolactic. It follows a long aging on lees to bring a maximum of complexity of aromas and flavors. If necessary, we make a collage to bentonite to remove proteins and a passing cold which eliminates tartar crystals. Then we perform a tangential filtration is the filtration method most friendly to wine.
The wine will be bottled 16 months after harvest. The relatively high temperatures at the end of winter allowed an early bud vines in early March. With a hot, dry spring flower took place in good conditions. In July, a hailstorm located did some damage to our Fourchaume plot. July and early August, rainy and stormy brought the water needed for the vineyards. The dry and sunny weather of the second half of August brought the grapes to maturity. The harvest began on September 2 under clement skies.
Pairs well with seafood, shellfish.
DAOU Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Petit Verdot.
The 2021 DAOU Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is emblematic of Paso Robles as a world-class region for Bordeaux-style wines. Intense purple-red hues foreshadow deep aromas of black fruit, pomegranate, tobacco, mocha, and bay leaf. Trailing notes of clove, nutmeg, and vanilla emerge as the wine opens up in the glass. Opulent textures expand across the palate with flavors of red fruit, blueberry, and chocolate-covered raspberry. The overall experience is fresh and rich, concluding with velvety tannins and impressive length.
Review:
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is blended with 23% Petit Verdot, made entirely with free-run juice, and it will be matured for 16 months in 50% new French oak. Opaque ruby, it offers pure aromas of cassis, violet, grilled meats, desert sage and bell pepper. The full-bodied palate is powdery, energetic and detailed with a long, layered finish.
-Wine Advocate 94-96 Points
J. Davies Nobles Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The 2020 Nobles Vineyard Pinot Noir’s aroma elegantly opens with blueberry compote, dark cherry and dried citrus peels, followed with a touch of baking spice and a hint of forest floor. The palate’s bright entry leads to notes of cranberry, red raspberry and a sprinkle of black tea, while a crisp acidity supports silky tannins to a clean finish.
Review:
Bountiful black-cherry flavors and good balance make this full-bodied wine difficult to resist. Black-fruit flavors are rich and well concentrated, backed by a light touch on the oak spices that emerge on the finish and add nice complexity.
-Wine Enthusiast 93 Points
This carries the forest green scent of the far-coast hills, a savory pinot noir with mineral intensity. The wine’s cherry-red fruit ripens on the eastern, leeward slopes of the second ridge in from the Pacific, that ripeness tamed by an earthy evergreen scent lasts for minutes, as if breathing the air at the edge of a redwood grove.
-Wine & Spirits 93 Points
Domaine de Beaurenard Chateauneuf-du-Pape is made from 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre.
Domaine de Beaurenard’s flagship wine is a quintessential blend, reflecting all the diversity of the terroir and the perfect synergy that exists between the soils and the grapes. It offers a supple and refined texture associated with a delicate aromatic palette that is the result of a constant quest for freshness.
Review:
Checking in as a blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, and the rest a handful of varieties, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape was brought up in a mix of foudre and older barrels. This deep ruby/purple-hued effort has a pure, vibrant, incredibly seamless, medium to full-bodied style that carries classic notes of black raspberry and black cherry fruits as well as peppery herbs, violets, spring flowers, and sous bois. This straight-up gorgeous, seamless, ultra-fine 2019 should be snatched up by readers. It has a rare mix of elegance, purity, and power, and it’s going to have two decades of prime drinking.
-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Chaupin is made from 100 percent Grenache.
A beautiful bottle, archetype of the appellation, which expresses the quintessence of Grenache in its cradle of Châteauneuf du Pape. Between notes of black fruit and violets, this vintage advances in time with suppleness, with already melted tannins.
Review:
Relatively black-fruited for a pure Grenache, it's generous in fruit but not excessive, the alcohol is high of course (it's pure Grenache), but it feels integrated. Long, pure, velvety - this is really stunning. Lifted plum fruit, dusted with dried oregano. It's young, but already quite accessible. It will age well thanks to its freshness and balance. Parcels of Grenache planted on lieux-dits Chaupin, La Janasse and La Crau, mostly sandy soils, the oldest planted in 1912.
-Decanter 96 Points
Domaine du Colombier Hermitage Rouge is made from 100 percent Syrah.
Perfect with beef ribs, grilled meats and cheese.
Manually harvested with destemmed grapes and fermented for about 2 to 3 weeks in temperature controlled vats, with an ageing period of 12 months, 65% in oak barrels and 35% in concrete tanks.
Review:
Brought up in 30% new demi-muids, with the balance in used barrels, the 2017 Hermitage is beautifully pure and layered, with smoking good notes of crème de cassis, white flowers, crushed rocks, and violets. Deep, full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it has plenty of tannins and is going to need 5-7 years of bottle age. This is a sensational Hermitage from Colombier that will drink well for 25+ years.
These wines are made by the talented Florent Viale and shine for their purity as well as character. While the winemaking here is traditional, with the wines destemmed and brought up mostly in used demi-muids, the purity of fruit can give the impression that wines are more modern styled than they are. They will all benefit from short-term cellaring.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96+ Points
Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits-Saint-Georges is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
A lovely, brilliant crimson color. A very earthy Nuits nose with some vanilla bean, too. On the palate, smoky, velvet-textured fruit without any tannin, but acids take their place, so the wine is nicely balanced. Not heavy, but a very elegant Pinot expression at the end.
Review:
Exotic scents of violet, raspberry and wild cherry mark this juicy red. Vivid and fruity, yet backed by a baseline of firm tannins. Shows fine balance and a lingering aftertaste of red berries and mineral. Best from 2022 through 2038.
-Wine Spectator 93 Points
Domaine Jean Grivot Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir.
Jean Grivot’s 38.3 acres spread across 22 appellations with vineyards in the communes of Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Besides the three grand crus, there are 8 premier crus including the much lauded Les Beaux Monts and Suchots in Vosne-Romanée. The grapes are completely de-stemmed and fermentation is spontaneous.
About the Vineyard:
Clos de Vougeot grand cru was acquired by Étienne’s grandfather, Gaston Grivot, in 1919. The total holding is 4.6 acres from the middle of the vineyard to the lower wall and the average vine age is 40 years old. A good Clos de Vougeot should be a complete wine without any one feature standing out. It is a perfect balance of power, aroma, and flavor.
Wine Production:
The grapes are destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 40-70% percent for the grands crus.
Tasting Notes:
The wine shows aromas and flavors of red berries, herbs, and purple flowers. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and medium weight with bright acidity and fine tannins. Aging in 40-70% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.
Food Pairing:
Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food-friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.
Review:
This round version is packed with ripe black cherry, violet, graphite and tobacco flavors. The silky texture and vibrant acidity work in tandem, while refined tannins provide support without getting in the way. There are a few edges to be worked out, yet this is long and concentrated.
-Wine Spectator 95 Points
The 2021 Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay Les Champans Premier Cru is from the domain’s largest premier cru holding, 4.2 acres whose vines date from 1934, 1971, and 1985. Champans is down-slope in the premier cru band, and its wine typically has more fruit and power than other Voillot Volnays.
Review:
‘The 2021 Volnay Les Champans Ter Cru has much more brightness and delineation than the Fremiets this year, with red cherries, wild strawberries and ust a touch of iodine and sous-bois. This is nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine structure, pliant tannins and a harmonious finish. Not the most complex Champans encountered from this address, yet it has class.
-Vinous 91-93 Points
The 2021 les Champans is also a simply stunning example of this fine premier cru vineyard. The beautifully elegant nose wafts from the glass in a blend of red and black plums, cherries, spit-roasted quail, a complex base of soil, woodsmoke, coffee bean and a deft touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off superb depth at the core, great soil signature, ripe, fine-grained tannins and a long, nascently complex and very promising finish. This is a touch more reserved on the palate than the Fremiets and will take a bit longer to blossom, but it is going to be stellar. 2034-2085.
93+ pts- John Gilman, View from the Cellar #102
The Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay Les Fremiets Premier Cru is from a parcel that is up-slope, and the wine is very calcaire, or limestony; you literally taste the stone in this elegant, intensely perfumed wine. Pair with veal filet mignon, squab, beef steak and roast duckling.
Review:
I really like this terroir and the 2021 is an absolutely classic example of this fine premier cru, offering up a refined and pure bouquet of black plums, dark berries, coffee bean, a complex base of dark soil tones, a nice touch of new oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with a superb core, lovely soil signature, ripe, suave tannins and a long, vibrant and complex finish. Fine, fine juice. 2033-2080.
93 pts- John Gilman, View from the Cellar #102
Tim Atkin 93 Points
El Grifo Lias Malvasia Volcanica is made from 100% Malvasia Volcanica.
Color: Straw yellow, with light golden hues. Clear and bright.
Aroma: Medium-high intensity of a wine in evolution. Fresh, citrus (orange peel) and tropical (passion fruit and mango) fruits. Flowers (orange blossom, jasmine, violets), fennel, and complex aromas such as silex or flint (phosphorus). Yeast autolysis is reminiscent of the aromas of baked goods and yeast. Bottle ageing brings out hints of dried fruits, honey and caramel.
Taste: Full-bodied, with a lengthy and unctuous texture, very strong natural acidity, citrus freshness, mineral notes and saltiness. Persistent finish.
Residual Sugar 0.5 g/L
Total Acidity 6.02 g/L
pH 3.36
Total SO2 91 mg/L
EnRoute Winery Les Pommiers Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Aromas of fresh raspberry compote are complemented by notes of baking spice, and fresh rain on a forest floor. Generous-yet-soft strawberry preserve flavors expand on the palate, with elegant, silky tannins. A mouthwatering acidity glides across the finish.
Review:
Vibrant ruby in color, this wine erupts from the glass with aromas of sweet cinnamon, cola and cherry. There is a charming delicacy here, with flavors of dried rose petal, cherry and berry pie filling on a midweight palate. A captivating dance between the snappy tannin structure and the lively acidity of this wine lead to a very pleasurable finish.
-Wine Enthusiast 93 Points
Faust The Pact Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot.
Dark, exotic spice-with star anise in the lead—opens on a complex nose layered with sweet tobacco, savory herb and olive notes, and a lovely vein of graphite minerality under briar-kissed blueberry. The palate is electric, its deceptive power couched in chalky, tight-knit cannins. Black raspberry joins blueberry, with wet slate and soil-driven, iron-rich minerality spilling into a long, perfectly balanced finish, serious and hedonistic at once.
Review:
So many graphite and pencil shaving aromas here with blue fruits. Slate and tar undertones. Black and red currants. Some ash. Medium-bodied with open grained tannins. So much iron and rust with lead and mussel shell. Then turns to pine cone and cedar. Really complex and flavor intensive. Love to drink it now as a young wine. This evolves all the time. It will age beautifully. Better in three to five years. But I can’t wait.
- 97 Points James Suckling
Faustino Gran Faustino I Rioja Gran Reserva is made from 86% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo.
Gran Faustino I 2004 is a wine that has a very positive evolution as far as tasting aspects are concerned. We have a garnet-colored, medium-bodied, bright wine with a long life ahead of it. It is clean and intense on the nose. Tertiary aromas predominate, with a marked presence of prunes and ripe fruit, perfectly blending with spicy and balsamic aromas from the barrel ageing. Black pepper is also present, reminding us that the Graciano is part of this very particular blend. It is on the palate where this great wine shows its elegance. Its entrance is subtle, but it gradually unleashes a flood of sensations. Notes of licorice, candied fruit, cocoa, and again, the balsamic notes we found on the nose also appear. A well-balanced acidity and polished tannins highlight its silkiness and roundness. It’s a wine brimming with nuances and complexity, very plush, with a sweet and delicate finish.
Classy wine with engaging tobacco, smoke and earthy aromatics. Complex and energetic with spice and red fruit flavours whooshing through the palate in a seductive style. A satisfying aged wine with thrillingly well-integrated new oak and a long, savoury finish.
-Decanter 97 Points
Fenocchio DOCG Bussia Barolo is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo
The color is deep garnet red and the bouquet is fine and pleasing, with intense scents of spiced rose and licorice. The flavor is dry, warm, full bodied and balanced with pronounced tannins and a persistent aftertaste. A wine particularly adapted for aging.
Traditional method of long maceration: natural fermentation without added yeasts for 30 days in stainless steel tanks.
The Barolo Bussia, with its structure and body characteristics, pairs well with dishes of meat, game and aged cheeses, typical dishes of the local cuisine, as well as with many rich international dishes.
Review:
" Pleasant dried-cherry aromas, colored with nutty spice and dried leaves. Full-to medium-bodied with fine, firm and velvety tannins and a long finish of candied-cherry and chocolate. Give it a few years to meld together better. Best from 2025."
- James Suckling (January 2022), 93 pts
Filippino Elio Barbaresco San Cristoforo Riserva 10 Anni is made from 100% Nebbiolo.
This Riserva 100% Nebbiolo is produced on the hillsides of the San Cristoforo vineyard in Neive. A beautiful wine, full of fruity aromas, violet and raspberries, along with spicy hints of cinnamon, tobacco and vanilla. Full-bodied and elegant with intense flavors.
The best grapes are delicately pressed and the stalks are removed. The must ferments in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature of 26°C with a maceration of 25 days. After racking, the new wine is put into 15-25 hl Slavonian oak casks for long months. Next, it is bottled and left to age for at least 7 years. The tenth year the wine is ready for the market.
Filippino Elio Barbaresco San Cristoforo Riserva
Made from 100% manual harvest Nebbiolo, the wine comes from the hillsides of San Cristoforo hill in Neive enjoying a south-southwest exposure. The fruity bouquet offers subtle notes of violet and raspberries, combining with spicy hints of cinnamon, cocoa and leather. Full, enchanting and elegant taste, intense with a good body.
The best grapes are delicately pressed and the stalks are removed. The must ferments in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature of 26°C with a maceration of 20 to 25 days. After racking, the new wine is put into 25 e 30 H Slavonian oak casks for long months. Next, it is bottled and left to age for at least an additional 24 months.
Review:
Spiced red and black fruits, licorice, Asian spice, and graphite all define the aromatics of the 2015 Barbaresco San Cristoforo Riserva, a medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, supple, elegant Barbaresco that has fine tannins and a great finish.
-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
Filippino Elio Barbera d'Alba Superiore is made from 100% Barbera.
This 100% Barbera shows an intense fruity bouquet with subtle vanilla and toasty notes. Full and spicy flavors, and a good body.
The grapes are pressed and the stalks are removed. The must ferments at about 26°C for 6-9 days. After racking, before the end of fermentation, the new wine is put in 225 liter Allier barriques for long months, depending on the vintage and the wine’s structure. It is subsequently moved into stainless steel vats to rest for some months before bottling.
Chablis achieves its highly distinctive mineral character due to its cool northerly climate and its highly calcareous soil. The Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Valmur Grand Cru is robust and powerful, vinified in the style of Côte de Beaune with some oak aging.
Review:
"A combination of fruit from the two sides of the Valmur valley, there is a lot of wine in this wine. It is engaging, sophisticated and has good heft with equally solid refreshment. Tasting of nectarines and pear core with a touch of earthiness, there's a gentle, dry tug on the lingering finish. This will certainly compensate the patient wine lover."
-Tim Atkins 95 Points
Named for the former Ranch owned by Butch Cassidy and the sundance Kid.
Cholila Ranch Malbec is made from 100% Malbec. The estate-grown grapes are manually harvested, carefully sorted, and destemmed. The wine undergoes traditional maceration for 21 days with selected yeasts. Cholila Ranch Malbec is aged both in American and French oak for 9 months, followed by a minimum of 6 months bottle aging prior to release.
Deep purple color. Aromas of ripe plum and mulberry with violet hints. Ripe black fruits and fig on the palate with touches of smoke and vanilla. A truly powerful yet balanced wine with a persistent finish.